The Deal Bastrop DIDN'T Vote On

"Commissioner David Glass, who voted on December 9, 2024 to approve the 10-year, 75% tax abatement for EdgeConneX, simultaneously serves as Board President of Aqua Water Supply Corporation (Aqua WSC), the primary water utility serving the Bastrop County area, including the Cedar Creek service area where the EdgeConneX campuses are being built.

Aqua WSC is a nonprofit water supply corporation organized under Texas Water Code Chapter 67. It draws from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer via the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District permit system. It is, in short, the entity that manages the very water resource that EdgeConneX’s operations will draw upon.

This dual role is not merely an appearance problem. Under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 171, a local public official is prohibited from voting on or participating in a matter involving a business entity in which the official has a “substantial interest.” Under § 171.002(2 )(C), a person who is a member of the board of directors or other governing body of a business entity has a substantial interest in that entity by definition, no financial threshold test is required. Board membership alone triggers the conflict.

The statute requires that before participating in a vote on a matter in which they have a substantial interest, the official must file a written affidavit with the county clerk disclosing the conflict and must abstain from further participation. Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 171.004."

FOOTNOTE
Glass, a republican, appears to be running for Congress. Guess shitting on Bastrop County wasn't enough for him.